Bill Cosby Tries To Block Sex Assault Prosecution

Comedian Bill Cosby on Tuesday sought to derail Pennsylvania prosecutors’ effort to make him stand trial on sexual assault charges, contending that a deal reached over a decade ago gave him immunity from prosecution.

An entertainer who built a career on family-friendly comedy, Cosby now faces accusations from more than 50 women that he sexually assaulted them, often after plying them with drugs and alcohol, in a series of attacks dating to the 1960s.

Prosecutors late last year charged Cosby, 78, with sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, a former basketball coach at his alma mater Temple University, just days before the statue of limitations to bring charges ran out.

Constand’s allegations are the only ones to have resulted in criminal charges against the actor, although Cosby also faces a series of civil lawsuits related to alleged rapes. Cosby has long denied wrongdoing, and his lawyers have asked the judge to dismiss the Constand case.